EAGLES: Jackson, Maclin let Foles down in debut

Philadelphia Eagles wide receiver Jeremy Maclin sits on a cooler during the second half of an NFL football game against the Washington Redskins in Landover, Md., Sunday, Nov. 18, 2012. The Redskins defeated the Eagles 31-6. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Jaworski was critical of veterans DeSean Jackson and Jeremy Maclin in the Eagles’ 31-6 loss to the Washington Redskins last Sunday. Jaws expected from them in rookie Nick Foles’ first NFL start.

“When you see your star players like DeSean Jackson catching two balls for five yards and your other starting receiver, Jeremy Maclin getting no catches it’s pretty hard to be successful, consistent and help out a rookie quarterback making his first start,” Jaworski said on a conference call. “They had 51 drop-backs in that game. When your two starting wide receivers cumulatively catch only two balls you’re going to have issues. So in that regard you have some players that are underachieving. And when you are playing young players it’s up for the veteran players to make sure that the young players feel comfortable, and they’re doing their job. So I think clearly when I look at this roster I don’t think it needs to be shredded but I think it does need to be tweaked.”

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Jaworski was in the middle of an answer about Foles, who completed 21 of 46 attempts for 204 yards, zero touchdowns, two interceptions and a 40.5 passer rating, when he assessed the coaching situation.

“It appears to me to be the way things are going in Philly right now the thing is probably going to be blown up and it’s going to go in a new direction,” Jaworski said. “The first thing you look at is do you have a young quarterback that a coaching staff can evaluate and say this will be our starter for the next 10 years.”

Preliminarily Jaworski’s answer to the quarterback question is yay. Based on the offseason, the preseason and the start in D.C. Jaworski thinks Foles has a pretty good future.

“After looking at the tape I thought for the most part he was under control,” said Jaworski, who studied the footwork of Foles. “I thought for the most part he was very, very good in the game. Now, he made some mistakes. There were times they didn’t give him some help. I just don’t think you can ask a young quarterback to drop back 51 times in a game and expect great results against a very complex and sophisticated Jim Haslett defense, who got after him pretty good.”

Jaworski is tired of the excuses about injuries on the Eagles’ offensive line. The Eagles started their sixth different lineup Sunday.

“Tampa has lost four of their starters on the offensive line,” Jaworski said. “And no one is whining there.”

The Buccaneers (6-4) have won four straight games. They entertain the Eagles in three weeks.

Anticipating the worst, Jaworski figures the Eagles’ quarterback situation will be their first priority next season.

Michael Vick missed last week with a concussion and still is in Stage 1 of the league’s five-stage concussion protocol.

Veteran Trent Edwards performed well in the preseason. Just not well enough for Reid and offensive coordinator Marty Mornhinweg to think he gave them a better chance to beat the Redskins than Foles.

Then there’s the 6-6, 243-pound Foles. While some insist there’s a reason he was a third-round draft pick, Jaworski is as impressed with Foles as unimpressed with the quarterback class coming out of college.

“He’s a big, strong-armed thrower that mechanically is very sound,” Jaworski said. “I think he will be a starter in the NFL … And a good one.”